


The Ideal Human

by MagnaMnemosyne



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Earthborn Shepard, F/M, Not actually a shipping fic, Other, Sole Survivor (Mass Effect), ZK Shepard - Freeform, more like a documentary excerpt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 01:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13729995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagnaMnemosyne/pseuds/MagnaMnemosyne





	The Ideal Human

_Who is the Ideal Human?_

**[X] CMDR. ZK SHEPARD**

Shepard knew what she was. She was a street rat, fancy guns and armor notwithstanding. People could call her a hero for Akuze and the first human Spectre all they damn well pleased, but it doesn’t change that simple fact. ZK Shepard is a street rat that got lucky. Depending, of course, on your definition of the word “lucky.” Does “lucky” include nonstop bloodshed, and the inevitable painfully violent death in some dismal and forgotten corner of the galaxy? Congratulations, you guessed ZK’s version of “lucky.” Granted, almost anything would be better than the filthy alleys she grew up in, where the gangs that scratched out an existence were always at war. Even in a city like Houston, down in the dark alleys and abandoned parts of the old city, diseases that the “higher society” snobs swore had been eradicated 150 years ago spread and festered. The unlucky still did patch-and-go stitches with needles and dental floss, with cheap tequila as an anesthetic; clinics, much less free ones, were all but unheard of. Smog that fell beneath the main bustle of the city above choked out the air, and anyone that wasn’t on drugs was selling them, or lying. So a life of constant fighting across the galaxy was a definite improvement. Hell, at least the Alliance kept her fed.

And Shepard knew what she wanted. She wanted freedom, which she lacked in the alleyways and underground of Houston. She wanted to choose what kind of person to be. She wanted to choose how she would live. She wanted to be able to choose how she would die. She wanted to protect the people close to her. Humans are pack-bonding animals, after all; bonding is something Shepard does easily and well, and her time in the Reds made her a fiercely protective person. That was something she understood. True, it made things a little difficult at times- Virmire was no picnic- but it’s not something anyone wants to go without. But mostly, she wanted peace. An end to the fire and warfare that she’s seen since she was 6 years old. She wanted the Council races to stop squabbling and actually do their jobs as protectors, she wanted humanity to pull its head out of its collective ass, and she never wanted to ever see another Reaper for as long as she lived. She’d be happy if she never saw another battle. She’d be tickled fucking pink if she could move with Kaidan somewhere quiet, and peaceful, where there were no scars from the Reaper wars and no Alliance outpost to keep bothering her for help.

But Shepard knew not to get her hopes up.

Saving the galaxy would have to do.

 

[Excerpt from a documentary regarding Shepard, published after the Reaper War]

Many stories and pseudo-legends about Shepard cropped up in the days following the firing of the Crucible. Most of them touted her as a hero, a selfless martyr who gave her life to destroy the Reapers, for the good of the Galaxy.

Those that saw her claimed she was a saint, a Fury, a warrior Goddess sent by whatever gods happened to be handy. She was unmatched in a fight, selfless and brave, taking on anything that crossed her path, and winning no matter the cost. She took on armies with a squad of three. She single-handedly shot down more Collector ships than the amount of ships in the Alliance fleet, if the stories are believed. She was the ideal hero.

Those that opposed her- and survived- say that she moved with a type of fire they had never seen before, as if she had no regard for her own life. The Krogan were quick to say that Shepard went into a blood rage, as their best warriors did. Nothing could stand before her, vanguards, mechs, gunships, not even the Reapers could stop her. She was a tool of righteous fury; she was the most terrifying adversary you could face. Survivors claimed they were among the luckiest people in the galaxy.

Those that met her, that spoke with her or shook her hand, say that she was exceedingly calm, almost serene, even covered in wounds and blood of every color. She never seemed to get angry, unless she was talking to the Council, and really, who wouldn’t get angry at them? She was the collected leader, as solid and steady as metal or stone. Anyone asking for help would receive it. She was the perfect general.

Those that knew her, that _really_ knew her, having served on the Normandy or ran with her in the Reds, say that all of those stories were- to quote one of the more _colorful_ characters we interviewed- horseshit. Shepard was as human as anyone else. She was selfish at times, she laughed, she screamed, when Thessia fell she locked herself in her cabin and beat the wall until both of her hands broke in 5 places. She cursed and drank with the best of them, and never let anyone forget she was a street rat. She was rough, and harsh in her own way, and she hid her emotions without even meaning to. But she was caring. She cared for her crew more than her own life, she tried her hardest to protect everyone she could, she made the hard decisions and called herself a monster for them. She never wanted to be remembered as a hero. She would have wanted to be seen as just another human, just another soldier, just one more casualty in the Reaper War.

Kaidan Alenko, when asked about these stories, only smiled. A lot of them were true, in their own way. Shepard was as complex as a human can be. But he refused to speak of her death- martyr, hero, soldier, he refused. She didn’t die, he said. Many took this to mean that Shepard lives on in the hearts of those who remember her. But he never gave up. She didn’t die. He never stopped emphasizing that point, and he himself disappeared not long after.

Shepard sightings became an unavoidable phenomenon. Omega, Horizon, Freedom’s Progress, Zhu’s Hope, every remote outpost at one point or another reported Shepard being seen. Sometimes Kaidan was seen as well, along with another human woman that seemed younger than both of them. Officially, these sightings were written off as hoaxes. There’s no way Shepard could have survived the blast, after all. To mock her memory in such a way was crass, immature. But the rumors on the extranet never really died down. Shepard recovered, or was revived, some claimed. Others claimed that Shepard was never at the Crucible, and was put into a protection program. The gist was always the same; wherever she was, Shepard was alive. She may be in hiding, or on the run, but Shepard is alive, and Kaidan is with her, and perhaps they deserve their anonymity. Peace was not such a large thing to ask, if they were alive.


End file.
